The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1887-02-13
PENSION MATTERS.
Some Finc Legal roints-Gen. Blacks y
Rulinps.

Some Finc Legal Points Black, Fair
Rulings.
Under the present administration of the Pen
sion Office II number of decisions have been made
which have been of interest to the claimants and
IN accordance with the rules of equity. one of
these changes can hc best illustrated by relating
case in point.
\ woman in New York state town was mar
ried to II steamboat captain. After few years
of married life he went OH voyage to Panama.
The last heard of him was that he hnd been left
thercsick. Hchud been II devoted husband always
writing home frequently. II was naturally
supposed, us time went by without news of
him, that he had died. but his wife was never
able To learn from any actual witness of his
death. There had been nm epidemic of fever at
Panama AT the time. and 1t was supposed that he
was hastily buried like the other victims. aud no
positive proof of his death was ever sent tn his
| wife. The common law recognizes woman ASA
widow when her husband has not been heard of
| Tor seven wears. After the lapse of that time
this, woman married again. When the war
| his wife with their three little children while
he went 10 fight for the Union. He was
killed ut the battle Of Bull Hun. When
the widow applied for II pension she was
confronted with hccast-iron rule which required
her to to supply positive proof Of the death of
hcr hrst husb;rlu before she could bc acknOwl-
edged ns the lawful widow of the soldier. This she
could not do; There was prcsrmptivc proof OF his
death enough To satisfy any one OF the fact, but
u
possible Tor her 10 obtain. Her little children,
whose father had been kill.I in service, Were
wasa remote possibility that. through some Enocll
Arden, improbable chance her first husband
might have been living At the time of her mar.
riagc with their father. The application was rc-
ncwcd from time to time us one Commissioners
succeeded another in the Pension Office, b,i, cnc
one supported the first decision, aud this upplicn
tiun, with the other, OF its class. was continually
| rejected.
| When Gen. Black became Commissioner ho re-.
versed this previous ruling. and decided that
| where n woman would he recognized ms II widow
| in common law she should he considered by
the Pension Office. and should not he dcbnrrc'
from obtaining u pension ns II soldiers widow be
cause shc could not give absolute .rooi oi tn,
death of her first husband.
The case, which had so often been rcunndcd t,
| the files, was now brought out, and, in view O
| the fact that not only seven but thirty years In,
passed since the first husband disappeared, II WA
cciycd her pension.
Another class of cases in which COMMISSIONS
law was the dependent parents" The ruling o
the office had always been that proof must b,
given that the son who died IN service nctinl!!
| contributed to the support of his parents II thi
could not be proved the parents could not Obtain
| II pension. Commissioner Black ruled that, in TN
| case of son dying in service while minor, l
was not necessary tn furnish proof of his hnvini
contributed to the support of his parents, is III
might never have had nm opportunity Il, do 81
| and II was fair to assume that he would hay
done so on arriving M maturity.
In case where the father presents II claim fo
pension on account uf his sons death, II II
shown that the father himself was in service II
the time, he was always dcbarrcd from pension
because he was Supported blythe Government
and not by his son. Commissioner Black decide
that in case the father had left any one ut HON
dependent upon him TO enter the war il was nc
supposed that his pay OF sl3 u month was sun
cicnt to preclude his dependence ,non his sol
| for aid.
In eases Of claim for pensions for disability in
CURED while in service two Glasses have nlwny
been dcbnrrcd-Onc where soldier was di.
charged for II disability which existed prior
enlistment. \ record of such discharge ha
always been held to absolutely preclude soldie
from obtaining pension, hut II is now held thu
evidence Is admissible to prove that the disubit
was incurred III service, and II such proof Is pos
tive the record does not dcbnr the pension. TIL
other class was where there was no record Z
disability shown by the War Department, and n
medical evidence To show the origin or cOntir
uancc of the disability. Such II claim was alwaS
considered inadmissiblc, but the present Con
missioner has held that professional cviticnt
is admissible, and when competent and suilcieI
pension may be- granted upon II. Thsis pcrhaI
. the most liberal construction that he has pl
. upon tn" law, but II seems only fair and Just.